It was a busy week last week, but a very fun one, and one that will go down in the books as a memory forever. Our family, except for Nick who had to stay back for school, and our second family, Steve and Carletta Hauck, and 2 of their kids, went to Orlando last week to take part in their Run Disney events. 4 days, 4 races, beginning with a 5K, then the second day a 10k, third day a half marathon, and the final day, a full marathon. You can pick and choose one or more, or all of them. Steve and I signed up for what is called the “Dopey Challenge”…you run all 4 events over the 4 days. The last time we did anything of this was 5 years ago, and we did the “Goofy Challenge”, which is the half marathon, followed by the marathon.
Steve and I were signed up to do the Dopey, but he hurt his knee and was unable to do this. He was able to “gut” it out, and he ran the 5k with me.
The weather was kind of a shock…28 degrees at the beginning of the 5k. The tough part of all of this was getting up at 2:15 AM every day, getting bused out to Epcot, which is where the start and finish of all of the races took place. Start time for the race was 5:30, and you are all assigned a corral to be in for the start. Between 20-25,000 people were in each race, and my daughters had never run a half marathon before, so we were assigned the last corral for all of the races. By being in the last corral, that meant we did not start the race until approx. 6:30 every day, so we had to stand outside for over 3 hours every day! That was harder than the run. Steve and I had a ball for the 5k, then I did the 10k myself the next day, and on Saturday, Sarah, my girls Molly and Megan, and our neighbors son Noah Hauck, all did the half marathon. Megan and Noah ran with me, and Molly ran with Sarah. It was a thrill! We got to run together, go through the them parks, high five all of the characters out on the route, and lots of pictures to be taken. Here are several:
We all had fun! I have always wanted to run races with my kids!!! Then, Sunday, it was time for the marathon…26.2 miles. I did not know how much I had left. I had already put in 22.4 miles in 3 days! Carissa Hauck, Steve and Carletta’s daughter, ran the marathon with me. She was very reluctant to do this, and her longest run had been 8 miles, done several months before this. She had never come close to running 26.2 miles at one time. She is in the military, stationed at Fort Bragg. She may not have been in running shape, but this kid is in incredible shape otherwise. If anybody was going to be able to do this, it was her. She ran with me from start to finish, and we picked up the pace as we went. Our second half was 10 minutes faster than the first half. We were on fire! So many people, so many things to do…I had not felt this good in a marathon ever! Here we are coming across the finish!
The medals were amazing. They all got one as they each ran one race. I got 6 medals! One for each of the 4 races, one for completing the Goofy, which was the half and full marathon, and one for the Dopey…doing all 4 races! People have asked me if I was crazy! How could I do this much at one time? What possessed me to do this? Why would anybody want to do this? It was called the Dopey Challenge…it was a challenge! It was a goal! I had never done this before. You never know as an individual what you are capable of doing. Several quotes stand out to me with this event: “It’s up to you how far you’ll go. If you don’t try, you’ll never know”. “You will never know your limits until you push yourself to them”. How true! The biggest thing out of all of this…I got to run with my kids, and my second family, and their kids. I have memories for a life time!
We all have memories for a lifetime! Bottom line, your only limitations are those you set for yourselves. If you think you can’t, you won’t. And if you think you can, anything is possible. The sky truly is not the limit…but your mind is! You can do this. No matter what your goal is, sometimes we all have to go out on a limb, and be a little “Dopey”…we don’t know what we are capable of until we try. Focus on your potential, not your limitations! Now Megan has told me she can’t wait to do another race with me. Nick is running in college, so when he gets done with school, I hope to run a race with him as well. If anything, my kids, and future grandkids, are going to know the importance of staying active, and living life to the fullest. Living life with adventures, challenges, setting goals…and they are even better when you have someone to do them with! This 4 days has to rank right up with some of the toughest I have ever done…and with the memories I have out of them, the run we had, I would not trade them for anything. Yes, I may be a little “Dopey”, but it was worth it. Find the “Dopey” that is hidden in all of us, and find out what you are really capable of doing. If you don’t start, you will never know. Put one foot in front of the other, and go! Strive to Survive! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan (aka “Dopey”)
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3763
